Marc Aplin's Blog, page 102

Cover Reveal for A Veil Of Spears

I can still remember the first time I heard of Bradley Beaulieu. It was 2011 when he was in the running for the Gemmell Morningstar Award with The Winds of Khalakovo. That was a great book and anyone who read it knew that Bradley would go far should he stick with Fantasy. However, Khalakovo was a […]

Small Press, Big Stories: World Weaver Press

Small Press, Big Stories is a monthly column focusing on small and independent presses from around the world. This month’s featured publisher is World Weaver Press. So far, all of the independent presses we’ve featured have been based in Britain. This time however, we’re off across the Atlantic to talk to World Weaver Press, home […]

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – Book Review

When I kicked off the Fantastic Literature column, I mentioned that Hulu was producing a series based on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. And that television show has helped spur a renaissance around the 1985 book, with libraries seeing waitlists for the book run a mile long, and the iconic costumes popping up at state […]

Urskuul’s Reading Circle: The Management Style of the Supreme Beings by Tom Holt

Dear Members of Urskuul’s Reading Circle, This isn’t something I enjoy doing, but I have to remind you all that we do have rules that members are expected to follow. While you may think the rules appear arbitrary or unnecessary, there are good reasons behind all of them. Xerxes Law, our suspiciously, conveniently named resident […]

The Pros and Cons of a Macro Timescale

Most fantasy and science fiction series tend to be, by their very nature, large in scope. We expect stories about the fate of worlds, the rise and fall of empires, and history in the making. A book might still focus on a character’s personal, small-scale struggle, but it’s rare the focus will only be on […]

Angela Bole Interview – Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), based in the United States, has served independent publishers and self-published authors since 1983. The organization is one of the few to serve this market, providing a wide-range of opportunities for its over 3,000 members. Today, I am excited to introduce Angela Bole, the Chief Executive Officer of IBPA, […]

Tough Travels: Strongholds

At the start of every month, Fantasy-Faction will lead you (yes, YOU!) on a tour of the fantasy genre. From high to low, from classics to new releases, from epic to urban; each month, we will guide you in search of a different trope, theme or cliché. Lest we become lost, we’ll be referring to […]

Cover Reveal & Extract for A TIME OF DREAD by John Gwynne

John Gwynne is a favourite here at Fantasy Faction. His The Faithful and the Fallen series has been named in our ‘best of’ and ‘most anticipated’ lists time and again, and for good reason. His debut, Malice, won the David Gemmell Morningstar award, and the next three books (Valour, Ruin, and Wrath) were all shortlisted […]

10 Tips for Self-Published Authors

In publishing there are outliers who release a book straight to the top of the charts, but they are few and far between. Happily, you don’t need this to happen to be able to make a full time living from writing—the slow build to a solid platform is equally viable, albeit longer in the making. […]

Monthly Short Story Winner: Dragons

This month we decided to give you a treat. Something grand. Something terrifying. Creatures you complained about being not depicted as they should be. This month our entrants wrote about dragons! Absolve yourself and picture them as the menacing, intelligent, magical, godlike terrors they are. Or not. You never know what our writers are going […]